Minsk is a city with a population of 2 million people. The scheme of the Minsk metro is a real walk through history. The very first stations, and still new ones, have been preserved here. At the same time, anyone, even a foreigner, can understand the scheme: all names are duplicated in Latin.
A bit of history
It should be noted that speaking about the Belarusian metro, the Minsk scheme is unique: it is the only one in the whole country. Today, the total length of underground tunnels is 25 kilometers, on which there are two branches (blue and red) and 29 stations.
And it all started in the 60s of the last century. Even then, local architects nurtured the idea of ββcreating the country's first metro line in the city. However, plans had to be postponed: according to the law, only cities whose population exceeded the mark of one million could get a fourth mode of transport.
Therefore, when this number was reached in 1976, design work began. Initially, the line consisted of 8 stations, the first of which was Chelyuskintsev Park. They expected to make the metro in 8 years, but managed it earlier: the transport was ready for use after 7 years.
Blue branch
Not without its difficulties. For example, how to build a station, which is located next to the watery soil of the river? However, on June 30, 1984, the festive opening of the first stations took place. Among them were the Institute of Culture, Lenin Square, Oktyabrskaya, Victory Square, Yakub Kolos Square, Academy of Sciences, Chelyuskintsev Park and Moskovskaya. All these stations operate to this day.
The remaining stations of the blue branch began to be built in gradually. Two years after the metro opened, the Vostok station was opened, which made it easier for the residents of this microdistrict to reach the center. In 2007, the branch was extended by two more stations: Uruchye and Borisovsky Trakt.
The most modern metro stations - "Grushevka", "Mikhalovo", "Petrovshchina" and "Robin" - became final on the blue branch.
And what about the other line?
The red metro line is, in a sense, younger: its construction began a little later. The first stations were opened on the last day of 1990. These were Frunzenskaya, Nemiga, Kupalovskaya, Proletarskaya and Tractor Plant.
An interesting fact: the Pervomaiskaya metro station, which is located between Kupalovskaya and Proletarskaya, opened only a few months later. Initially, it was not planned at all in the project. However, due to the fact that the distance between the two stops was large, some changes were made to the plan. Even now, the exit from the train is carried out at the door on the right side, and not on the left, as at all stations.
From 1995 to 2005, the red branch expanded, new stations were added that connected the different ends of the city. This is exactly what the Minsk metro scheme looked like in 2014. And today, it is planned to add three more new stops to the red and blue branches: Smolenskaya, Shabany and Krasny Bor.
Green Line
A new scheme is planned in the Minsk metro. Already in full swing is the construction of another - the green branch. This year it is planned to open three stations: Kovalskaya Sloboda, Vokzalnaya, Frantisk Bogushevich Square and Yubileynaya Square. The remaining stations on the branch, which, in total, will number 14, will be commissioned by 2020.
Earlier it was also planned to add one more line to the scheme of the Minsk metro - purple. She would connect the city from the Zhdanovichi, Drozdov and Vesnyanka to Chizhovka and Serebryanka. However, the project was canceled, and now work is underway to build a green branch.
New image
Most recently, Belarus hosted a competition to create a new Minsk metro scheme. It was attended by young designers from all over the country. Until now, only the names of stations were indicated on the map, at some points the presence of ATMs was indicated.
The authorities decided to approach the problem more comprehensively: you need to give detailed information about the passage. But how to fit everything on a small piece of paper? After some thought, the problem was solved, and a new scheme of the Minsk metro appeared. At it, distant stations are still marked with symbolic circles, while central ones are described in more detail. Now, on the subway map, you can see the nearest attractions, rivers, the location of ground transport stops.
In addition, the procedure for writing stations in Latin was simplified. Since the station names were proposed in Belarusian, such letters as Δ, Ε, Ε, etc. were used for transcribing. In the new format, the symbols were completely abandoned from such symbols, based on the familiar English alphabet.
Another innovation - on the map now all microdistricts of the city are marked. Passengers will not have to delve into the phone, looking for the right direction: all information will be located on the map. It will also indicate the direction of transport from the center to the microdistricts, since still not all areas of Minsk are connected by metro lines. Now you can easily get from one end of the city to the other.